Fight and Flight
by Hieiko
Summary: It's the job of a Spirit Guide to ferry the dead, especially those slain by the Reikai Tantei on their missions. Hiei and Hinageshi have their own way of dealing with this arrangement. AU.


Title: **Fight and Flight**  
Author: Hieiko  
Fandom: Yu Yu Hakusho  
Pairing: Hiei/Hinageshi  
Disclaimer: I don't own YYH.  
Warnings: Some violent scenes are not suitable for very young readers.  
Notes: Written for the **30kisses** livejournal community. Theme #8, "our own world".  
Summary: It's the job of a Spirit Guide to ferry the dead, especially those slain by the Reikai Tantei on their missions. Hiei and Hinageshi have their own way of dealing with this arrangement. AU.

Leaves crackled and tree branches snapped as the demon raced through the forest. Blood trickled from an injury in his side, and he knew that he was probably leaving a trail. No matter. He had not sensed his pursuer for quite some time now, but his survival instincts kept him going. Soon enough, he decided it was safe to take a brief rest, and sat on the ground. Maybe all those rumors had been exaggerated, he thought to himself. Surely it was possible to survive an encounter with one of the infamous Reikai Tantei.

Pain suddenly exploded in his chest, and he let out a harsh cry. He stared in disbelief at the arrowhead protruding from the area just above his heart, before his body gave in and he slumped forward, eyes still open in death.

A dark figure detached itself from the shadows nearby. Crimson eyes looked down in disdain at the lifeless demon. "Weak fool."

"Hiei!"

The dark figure looked up at the sound of his name. A redheaded girl, clad in garments as dark as his own, approached him warily.

"Is he dead?" she asked.

Hiei said nothing, but his downward glance told her the answer. His lips twitched in amusement when she gave a long-suffering sigh. "I told you that you would fail, Hinageshi. This is nothing new."

She frowned. "He shouldn't have run away. I know I could've convinced him to surrender peacefully, if only he listened."

"But he didn't. So you killed him. Thus ends his pathetic life." Hiei eyed the crossbow slung over Hinageshi's shoulder. "Did you use poison tips with your arrows?"

"Yes, of course. Otherwise you wouldn't have been called here," she replied almost absently as she pulled out the arrow imbedded in the dead demon's body.

"Hn. True enough," he commented.

"No remarks about my aim? I missed the heart, you know." Hinageshi said as she faced him again, her eyes daring him to say something about her mistake.

Hiei smirked. "I'm aware of that. But it's good that you know your failings."

"Jerk! What are you standing around here for, anyway? He's dead. I did my job, now you do yours," she retorted.

He shrugged. "I'm supposed to take his spirit to Reikai once it has left the body. It's still there."

"What?! He's still alive, then!" Hinageshi knelt down beside the body to check for any signs of life.

Hiei grasped her by shoulders and pulled her away. "No. That demon is dead. He simply refuses to accept it."

Almost on cue, a translucent form began to float above the corpse. It looked exactly like the dead demon, minus the injuries. "What happened?" it asked, before catching sight of Hinageshi and backing away. "You can't take me alive!"

Hiei felt Hinageshi tremble slightly. Keeping one hand on her shoulder, he used the other to pull out a communicator from his pocket. He pressed a button, and the tiny viewscreen flickered. The image of a green-haired girl, with eyes as red as Hiei's, appeared.

"Hello, oniisan," greeted his twin sister in a cheerful voice. Then she saw the look on his face. "Is there something wrong?"

"Yukina," he said, "Hinageshi's just finished her mission. Will you get someone to bring the demon's spirit to Reikai? I was going to do it, but..."

"Oh! I understand. I'll send someone right away," Yukina promised. "Don't worry about it."

Hiei muttered his thanks and shut off the communicator. Turning his attention back to the demon spirit, he noticed that it was floating farther away from them.

His eyes narrowed. Deftly he grasped the hilt of the sword concealed within his cloak, and flung it towards the wayward demon. The blade spun in mid-air, before its tip struck the demon's torso, pinning it against a tree. Hiei once again found himself appreciating the usefulness of his Reikai-made sword, because of its ability to affect spirits as though they were physical entities.

Satisfied that the demon spirit wasn't going anywhere, Hiei raised his free hand and concentrated. He grimaced slightly as the oar materialized in his grasp. He had never been very fond of traveling by oar, even though it was the usual form of transportation used by Reikai Spirit Guides. But, he had a reason for using it this time.

Hinageshi had been simply standing beside him and staring at the ground as he dealt with the demon spirit. However, she lifted her head to look at Hiei when he removed his hand from her shoulder. Her eyes widened at the sight of Hiei perched rather uncomfortably on the floating oar.

"Are you coming or not?"

"But..." She gestured weakly at the sword-impaled demon spirit.

"He'll stay put until someone comes to get him. Now, I'm not asking again..."

Hinageshi gave a small grin and practically jumped to sit behind Hiei on the oar. Her grin increased in proportion when he made no complaint as she wrapped her arms around his middle.

Hiei changed the oar's angle, and they zoomed upwards at breakneck speed. They slowed down once they reached a reasonable altitude, and then cruised along at a speed suited for a leisurely flight in the skies of Makai. Hinageshi kept her arms around Hiei, and rested her chin on his right shoulder. "Thank you, Hiei," she murmured.

"Hn." was the reply.

There was silence for some time, until Hinageshi decided she couldn't stand it anymore. "Don't you ever wonder, what if things were different? Imagine if I were a Spirit Guide and you were one of the Reikai Tantei..."

"If that were the case, you'd be overworked with the number of demons you'd have to ferry between worlds," Hiei said.

"I could fly on an oar all the time..."

"Slow as you are, you'd need to," Hiei interrupted again.

"Maybe I wouldn't have to hunt anyone down..."

"No, it'd be faster if I did that alone," Hiei put in.

Without warning, Hinageshi bit down on his shoulder. "You're awful," she pouted.

"Are you insane?! If you want to fall thousands of feet and meet a painful death, do it without me," Hiei growled, as he tried to regain control of the oar which had begun to plummet downwards.

"Sorry," Hinageshi said, not meaning it. She rolled her eyes when he again replied with a "Hn."

"Don't roll your eyes at me, woman. Do you want this little joyride to end right now?" Hiei threatened, without looking at her.

"No, let's fly some more, please," came her answer, in a soft voice far too close to Hiei's ear than he was comfortable with. He was about to tell her to back off, when he felt the sensation of lips against his cheek. He tried his best to school his facial expression, but he couldn't quite stop the tinge of red from appearing on his cheeks.

"I'm glad I have you looking out for me. I mean it," Hinageshi whispered, tightening her embrace on him.

Hiei remained silent, though he did lift one hand from the oar, long enough to give her arm a slight squeeze. It was about the most affectionate gesture he could offer, for now.

Maybe next time he'd have the courage to return her kiss.


End file.
